Gateway Playhouse facts for kids
Gateway Playhouse, also known as the Performing Arts Center of Suffolk County is a theatre located on the eastern edge of Bellport, New York on the grounds of the former Mott Estate. The street address is 215 South Country Road. It's the oldest of three professional theatres on the island and nationally recognized as one of the top ten summer theatres in the nation.
The theatre grounds encompass the Mainstage Theatre, Barn Theatre (for acting school classes and projects), scene shop, two rehearsal studios, three dorm-style housing units, a newly remodeled kitchen, costume shop, design office/studio, paint shop, box office, business office, various storage spaces, a recreation room and a large hedge-lined lawn with outdoor swimming pool (which is the first ever in-ground swimming pool on Long Island). The Gateway Playhouse theatre seats 500 and its proscenium height is 34' holding 25 line sets for scenery and lights.
History
The theater's history dates to 1950 with a production of Taming of the Shrew in a converted barn as was traditional of the time. By the 1960s it transitioned from summer stock to a professional company with a new theater that seated five hundred. In 2011, the Gateway Playhouse and Acting School combined to form the non-profit organization, the Performing Arts Center of Suffolk County.
Among its notable productions are a 1992 production of Once on This Island with Norm Lewis, as well as a 2011 production of Sunset Boulevard and a 2016 production of Anything Goes with Andrea McArdle.
In fall, the theater transforms into a haunted house.
Acting School
The Gateway Playhouse enrolls students from all over Long Island; coming from as far away as Mattituck, Hampton Bays, Huntington and Syosset. They all have varying interests and levels of training, some with none and some with plenty. Many students have landed parts in the summer Children's Theater shows, as well as young roles in the Main Stage productions. Others have even had success in commercials and National Tours. Recently, several students have landed jobs in the industry, on network television series, Broadway shows, feature films, commercials and soaps.
Alumni
- Robert Duvall
- Gene Hackman
- Joe Piscopo
- John Lloyd Young
- Kendra Kassebaum
- Elizabeth Stanley
- Bradley Dean
- Jennifer Gambatese
- Kingsley Leggs
- Norm Lewis
- Brad Little
- Alex Lee Tano
- Andre Ward
- Jennifer Westfeldt
- Adam Wylie
- Allyce Beasley
- Derrick Delmore
- Soara-Joye Ross
- Richard P. Gang-Billis, South Pacific
- Dennis Kenney
